Albany, New York

Albany
(Mohican: Paupautanwuthyauk)[1]
Etymology: Named for the Scottish Duke of Albany, whose title comes from the Gaelic name for Scotland: Alba
Nicknames: 
Motto: 
Assiduity[d]
Map shows Albany on the west bank of the Hudson, surrounded by the towns of Colonie, Guilderland, and Bethlehem. Roads are also shown. Interstates 90, 87, and 787 pass through the city boundaries.
Boundaries of and major thoroughfares through Albany
Located on the east border of the county, north of center. County is located in east section of the state, just south of center.
Location of Albany in Albany County (upper left) and of Albany County in the State of New York (lower right)
Albany is located in New York
Albany
Albany
Location of Albany within the State of New York
Albany is located in the United States
Albany
Albany
Location within the United States
Albany is located in North America
Albany
Albany
Location within North America
Albany is located in Earth
Albany
Albany
Location on Earth
Coordinates: 42°39′09″N 073°45′26″W / 42.65250°N 73.75722°W / 42.65250; -73.75722
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
RegionCapital District
CountyAlbany
Settled1614; 410 years ago (1614)
Incorporated1686; 338 years ago (1686)
Government
 • TypeStrong mayor-council
 • MayorKathy Sheehan (D)
Area
21.94 sq mi (56.81 km2)
 • Land21.40 sq mi (55.44 km2)
 • Water0.53 sq mi (1.38 km2)
 • Metro
2,811.6 sq mi (7,282 km2)
Elevation148 ft (45 m)
Highest elevation378 ft (115 m)
Lowest elevation2 ft (0.6 m)
Population
 (2020)
99,224
 • Estimate 
(2023)
101,228 (US: 331st)
 • Density4,730.28/sq mi (1,825.9/km2)
 • Urban
593,142 (US: 73rd)
 • Urban density2,186.3/sq mi (844.1/km2)
 • Metro
1,170,483 (US: 63rd)
 • Metro density416.3/sq mi (160.7/km2)
DemonymAlbanian[9]
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
12201–12212, 12214, 12220, 12222–12232
Area codes518, 838
Geocode977310, 978659
ISO 3166 code36-01000
FIPS code36-01000
GNIS feature ID977310[7]
Websitealbanyny.gov

Albany (/ˈɔːlbəni/ AWL-bə-nee) is the capital and oldest city in the U.S. state of New York, and the seat of and most populous city in Albany County. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about 10 miles (16 km) south of its confluence with the Mohawk River.

The city is the economic and cultural core of New York State's Capital District, a metropolitan area including the nearby cities and suburbs of Colonie, Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs. With an estimated population of 1.1 million in 2013, the Capital District is the third most populous metropolitan region in the state. As of 2023, Albany's population was 101,228.

The Hudson River area was originally inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Mohican.[10] The area was settled by Dutch colonists, who built Fort Nassau in 1614 for fur trading and Fort Orange in 1624. In 1664, the English took over the Dutch settlements, renaming the city Albany in honor of the Scottish title of the Duke of York (later James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland): the Duke of Albany.[11][12] The city was officially chartered in 1686 under English rule. It became the capital of New York in 1797 after the formation of the United States. Albany is the oldest surviving settlement of the original British thirteen colonies north of Virginia.[13]

In the late 18th century and throughout most of the 19th, Albany was a center of trade and transportation. The city lies toward the north end of the navigable Hudson River. It was the original eastern terminus of the Erie Canal, connecting to the Great Lakes, and was home to some of the earliest railroads in the world. In the 1920s a powerful political machine controlled by the Democratic Party arose in Albany. In the latter part of the 20th century, Albany's population shrank because of urban sprawl and suburbanization. In the 1990s, the New York State Legislature approved for the city a US$234 million building and renovation plan, which spurred redevelopment downtown.[14] In the early 21st century, Albany's high-technology industry grew, with great strides in nanotechnology.[15][16]

  1. ^ Miles, Lion. "Mohican Dictionary" (PDF). Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Churchill, Chris (August 9, 2022). "Churchill: Kaloyeros was a Smalbany antidote". Times Union. Albany, New York. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
    Garretson-Persans, C.M. (2016). The Smalbanac 2.0: An Opinionated Guide to New York's Capital District. Excelsior Editions. State University of New York Press. p. V. ISBN 978-1-4384-6360-5. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Platt, K. W., & Rincón, L. P. (2009). Latino Migration within New York State: Motivations and Settlement Experience.
    "Insider's Guide: Albany isn't Smallbany". New York Makers. March 11, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Albany" Archived October 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Archived October 31, 2009.
  5. ^ Nearing, Brian (November 30, 2004). "Three Cheers for the Orange, White, and Blue". Times Union (Albany). Hearst Newspapers. p. B1. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  6. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "NATIONAL WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM - The Hudson River Basin". USGS. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference mceneny111 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Peoples of the Hudson Valley | Weaving Together the Northeast". April 29, 2016. Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  11. ^ "Why Albany?". Scotland Shop. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "No. 2009". The London Gazette. February 16, 1684. p. 1.
  13. ^ Fitzpatrick, Edward (June 3, 1998). "312-Year-Old Document Shapes City's Government". Times Union (Albany). Hearst Newspapers. p. B4. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  14. ^ McEneny (2006), p. 201
  15. ^ Rulison, Larry (July 10, 2015). "Made in Albany: IBM reveals breakthrough chip made at SUNY Poly". Albany Times-Union. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  16. ^ Klopott, Freeman; Wang, Xu; Ring, Niamh (September 27, 2011). "IBM, Intel Start $4.4 Billion in Chip Venture in New York". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved July 12, 2015.


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